Sabre F-86

All of my photographic life I have been interested in

photographing aeroplanes, not that I have had many

keepers over that time but there have been one or two.

I did take a successful photograph of a Sabre F-86

once though but can't put my hands on it at present.

That Sabre was in a collection of historic aircraft

parked in the desert at Tucson, Arizona.

Nevertheless, here is a Sabre F-86 that I saw

earlier this week. Kept in a hangar at Ardmore

airfield just south of Auckland, it is an ex-Australian

Air Force model. Although it is undergoing restoration

whether it does get to fly again is uncertain.

Sabres first flew in 1949 and were developed over the next

10 years. More than 6000 were built. Famously, they

were used in the Korean War, where they were up against

the equally sculptural MiG 15. I was lucky to see a couple of

MiG 15's being restored in Australia.

More Taranaki Hills

This follows on from my previous post.

Particularly near the coast in Taranaki

many of the hills still show the terraces

that were cut into them by Maori as they

built pa, their fortified villages.

As the decades go by, these pa are

probably becoming less distinct,

less defined. Earthworms alone

can have an effect.

The photo below shows a largish one

at Tongaparutu, on the coastal highway

south of Awakino.

There has been some discussion

recently about the preservation

of these baches, classic examples

of their type.

Taranaki

I often drive along the road from Auckland to New Plymouth.

It's a long journey but my heart always lifts when,

as I leave the King Country and approach the coast

the landscape changes and these distinctive

hills begin to appear.

In my enthusiasm, I took this photograph

through the windscreen of my car hence

the shading in the top left of the image and the bonnet

of the car running along the lower edge.

Try as often as I do, I have not yet taken

a photo of these hills that I want to keep.

Still, I will keep at it I'm sure.

Plumbing

I took this photo in New Plymouth, recently.

These pipes are on the side of a building there.

I'd noticed them several times and finally

thought I had to take a picture.

Plumbing often catches my attention, this is

the latest example.

But then perhaps it's not the pipes that attract me

at all, but the spaces that they

draw, the shapes and their rhythm.

It is often the case that I take photographs

of arrangements like this to see what

they look like when I take photographs

of them.

Change

Yesterday I was in Takanini in South Auckland and had

the experience of revisiting the site of a dairy

farm once owned by my parents. I lived there

for a few years when I was a small child.

The farm is now almost completely built over

by a variety of enterprises. The car wrecker's

yard I could do without, but to see this

Sikh Temple built on one of the paddocks

really did delight me.

Clouds

Last year when I lived at Henderson House

in Alexandra in Central Otago,

the views from my balcony were

spectacular.

The cloud scenes especially were so remarkable

that for the first time in my photographic life

I almost became a cloud photographer.

y,

The Fernery

In the Auckland Domain, near the museum, there is a fernery,

an area where the light is soft and shady and the air is still.

In this sanctuary is a collection of ferns, thriving.

This is the entrance.

Turtle Again

I don't know what's causing it but turtles

in some form or other keep

popping up in my life. I don't know why, I am

not even especially interested in them.

However, they are most welcome anyway.

This particular one was given to me

by a young boy many years ago.

I had admired it and in a most generous action

he gave it to me.

It has been one of my most valued possessions

ever since.

Thank you Pippin.

Whangamomona

Recently I went on a day trip

into a remote part of the North Island.

I visited Whangamomona, one of the few

settlements in the area. It is on the road

from Stratford to Taumaranui, a 150 km

road through a rugged hinterland.

The road is now being promoted as

The Forgotten Highway.

This topographical map will give you some

idea of the land surface in this area.

Bats

Here is a photo I took from a boat in a river near
Darwin in the very north of Australia, when I was
fishing for Barramundi. It was about 5 or 6 years ago.

Directly underneath this tree
was a scarily large crocodile patiently
waiting in the hope that
that one of these large bats
was going to plop on to the ground. I was glad
that I was in a boat with a big engine.

If I had had a longer lens on my camera I think
that I could have taken a better photo than
this.

For many years I've been wanting
to do a close up portrait of a bat.
as it hangs upside down. It's not
a photo that I have given up on.

Waves at Riverton

Today I have been trawling through some
photos that I have taken but not done
anything with. This one, from Riverton,
close to the bottom left corner of the
South Island is almost 2 years old.

The weather in this region can be so bleak
that on days such as this it can
appear very monochromatic.
This photograph is actually

in colour.

The Necklace

I bought this necklace, not for wearing
but because I was interested in the way in which
the beads were of different sizes
and distributed at irregular
intervals.

Plant Study

Ever since I took up the camera
over 30 years ago, I've been
interested in photographing
plants. It is a subject area that I
suspect will stay with me
for the rest of my life.

Here is a specimen that I saw
recently. Oddly I took this
photo largely because I thought
that this could make a
interesting drawing
and I might use the photo
as a form of sketch notes.

I'm not sure whether it should be a pencil
drawing or an ink one. I have recently
set myself up with charcoal but this
is not going to be a good subject
for that medium. Not in my hands
anyway.

Red Cloud at Night

Three New Plymouth Views

These are not great photos but they
do give you an idea of some of the structures
that are in my vicinity.

The building in the middle photo is
an old hospital, no longer used as such
unfortunately for it is one of my favourite
buildings in this city.

In the top photo Mt Taranaki is just visible on the
right of the tank.

The clock tower is a reconstruction of an earlier tower
that was controversially demolished. The building behind
it, 60's perhaps is another one of my favourite buildings,
from the outside anyway. I haven't been inside but have
been told that it is not that great to work in.

The Fernbird

Recently I visited the Auckland Museum and wandered
through some parts of it, on the hunt.

I managed a few snaps but this was the only one that I wanted
to keep, for further study, if that is not
too strong a word.

It is the composition that draws me. The triangulation
of the rushes. I want to live with this picture for a while.

The diorama is really featuring the Fernbird (I'm fairly sure
that's what it is) but for me, while the Fernbird is part of the composition,
the subject lies elsewhere.

Passion Fruit

When in Auckland recently
I bought some Passion Fruit
for 95 cents each.
I love so much about the fruit
that I thought it worthwhile,
as indeed it was.

Imagine my glee then,
when a couple of hundred
metres away from my studio here
in New Plymouth I found a source
where, as long as they last,
they are $2 per dozen.

I

Roller

For about 2 years I have admired this roller
which sits outside a museum on the outskirts of
New Plymouth. The museum is similar to MOTAT
in Auckland because like it, it is a
repository for a lot of this sort of machinery.

There is something about this roller
that always captures my attention.

The Baby's Bottle.

Late on Friday I was walking along a street
in New Plymouth and came across this
arrangement.

The bottle is exactly where I found it.
No adjustment was necessary.

Happy Easter

Doll on Stick

In my studio there are assorted objects.
I have future plans for some of them,
others I collect just because I like the
look of them as they are.

The dolls head was lying on a footpath and
I decided to give it a home.

The forked stick is awaiting the sharpening of its feet
into points. Every now and again I whittle
sticks.

Sometimes visitors make subtle adjustments to
the position of these objects that are lying around. In this case a visitor
has pushed it a bit further and put the head
on top of the stick.


The result is something where the whole is greater than the sum of
the parts. I like rearrangements like this. Thank you Jim.

Boat Trailer

Went for a stroll along the waterfront with my camera,
I'm in the mood to photograph at present. Yet I ignored the ocean,
and the wharves and the yachts,
the only photo that I took was this one of these red rollers
on a boat trailer.

I have no idea why the view attracted me, I just have
to accept it. I couldn't write about it if I was required
to.

I'm not even sure if the photo is very good,
bit obvious somehow.

What interests me most is why it reminds me
so much of another photo that I made about a month ago.
I blogged about that photo at the time but to save
you the trouble of looking it up,
here it is again.